I put together this girly girl gift guide with the cool chick in mind. I chose items from brands that are a little less common, so not your usual Too Faced palettes or Benefit gift sets here. Just here to help you impress the trend-conscious beauty in your life. There’s still 18 shopping days left before Christmas so godspeed and this gift guide.

1. PINROSE Parfum-a-Go-Go I recently tried this out and reviewed it here. This is a fun, hip way for your recipient to find a scent she loves. I’m partial to Merry Maker and Treehouse Royal myself.
2. Glossier Black Tie Set The OG of cool girl brands, Glossier, has put out this collection of new offerings in one set. From a polish in the perfect “millennial pink” to their new lipgloss, The G fan will be stoked.
3. It’s Skin Macaron Lip Balm This is the second best thing to gifting someone a box of macarons.
4. Aloe + Rosewater | Balance Mist Anyone can appreciate the refreshment of a facial mist, especially dry winter skinned babes! I love spraying a mist over my night cream or for refreshing makeup midday.
5. When Travelmate Face Mask Who doesn’t love wearing a sheet mask and taking creepy selfies? A person that’s no friend of mine. 6. LimeLight by Alcone Winter KissesI love this combo for the perfectly romantic, mauvey-pink lip. If pink isn’t your style, you can choose from several other shade combos.
7. Static Nails All-In-One Pop-On Manicure Kit It never fails; every time I wear these, I get compliments and questions. Static’s reusable pop-on nails come in a myriad of killer finishes. See my thoughts here and here.8. Moonplay Cosmetics StroboscopeDesigned to mimic studio lighting effects, this cruelty-free, vegan product blurs imperfections and diffuses light.

Skin Therapist: Meh. Though not hydrating enough as a daily moisturizer for me, it makes a really nice makeup primer. It absorbs quickly, feels non-sticky and matte on the skin so people with normal skin will like the texture a lot. I’m very dry and want more hydration so I have to add a drop of facial oil to amp it up for my dry skin. I notice it’s very white when you apply it but it goes away once you rub it in. If this just had more hydration, I’d be a big fan.

Skin Polish: Love. It smells like lemon meringue, gently exfoliates and hydrates. This will be my winter mask for sure. The jojoba beads are really gentle and the apricot and lemon peel oils really penetrate the top layers of the skin, leaving my face very soft. I experience no tingling, burning, or tightness, making this an excellent mask for those with more sensitive skin.

Must Dew: Nope. While it shares 6 common ingredients with one of my favorite facial oils ever, is affordable and smells lovely, there is one main issue. It has caused my non-breakout-prone skin to break out twice. I’m talking painful, sore, beneath-the-skin zits on my chin. I am truly so bummed because I love facial oils and this contains so many amazing ingredients. I’m stumped as to why I break out from it but I’ve been using it to moisturize my hands and body instead.

Quench Cleanse: Love. Though it smells a little odd to me, it’s a really nice, gentle cleanser for dry and sensitive types. I like the texture a lot and it only takes one pump. It does a nice job of breaking down makeup without leaving skin tight or dry. If you have dry to very dry skin, I think you’ll love this. As we run the heat more here in the midwest, I’m finding this to be the only cleanser that doesn’t leave my skin feeling tight and dry.

One Drop Wonder: Love. Everything you need to know about my feelings on this can be found in this post. I will simply say that this has changed my skin for the better and I have to have it in my life now.

This set includes everything I talked about above minus Must Dew, which is awesome because that’s the one that doesn’t work for me. It comes in a vegan leather bag, the same vegan leather that Louis Vuitton uses, in fact! Buying in the set vs. individually saves you $12 plus it comes gift-wrapped.

I hope you enjoyed this skincare line roundup. Look for another one soon 🙂

All products purchased with my own money. Purchases made through links her will earn me commissions.

I love brands like Colourpop that check all the boxes. What boxes you ask?

Affordable

Cruelty free

American made

Good quality

Fun vibes

I have worked with Colourpop before and the love is still strong. I took advantage of their Black Friday sale and wanted to share my mini haul with you because I’m loving what I scooped up!I used the Black Friday sale to stock up on goodies I’ve not yet tried from Colourpop. They’re always putting out new products, collections and collabs so it can be hard to keep up! I didn’t go too crazy but I am really digging what I did grab.I’d never tried Colourpop’s brow products but I’d heard good things so grabbed one. I got Bangin’ Brunette which is dark enough for me and applies really smoothly. It might be just a smidge warm still but for $5, I am totally happy with it.I also jumped at the chance to finally try Colourpop’s Creme Gel Colours, adding this matte, deep brown gel liner to my collection. The shade is called Brewhaha and I really love it. A dark brown winged liner is a fresh switch from the usual black. I will say, while I adore the color, the application is nothing noteworthy. It’s not super smooth applying and I felt like I had to use more than usual to get it to glide on opaquely. Again though, for $5, I can’t complain much!I wanted to check out Colourpop’s liquid lipsticks so I picked up the Out and About bundle. The set includes their Ultra Matte Lip in Times Square and Viper and their Ultra Satin Lip in Barracuda.I love their Supershock Shadows so I of course grabbed Puppy Love and Cat Nap, with 100% of the proceeds going to NKLA. I knew I’d love the sparkly mauve of Cat Nap, but didn’t expect to adore Puppy Love as much as I do. It’s such a beautiful semi-duochromatic peach. As with all Colourpop shadows, finger application is best. I tried a synthetic brush but ended up going the finger route.Wearing: Brow Pencil in Bangin’ Brunette, Supershock Shadow in Puppy Love, Creme Gel Colour in Brewhaha, Ultra Satin Lip in Barracuda.If you need affordable gifts for beauty lovers this holiday season, Colourpop is where it’s at. Might I suggest their value sets? I hope you enjoyed this lil baby haul and the look. Ya’ll come back now!

When I worked at Sephora, I learned how powerful scent can be. The same scent could cause one person’s eyes to light up while causing another to gag. I learned about top, middle and bottom notes and that people like change up their scent based on their mood, their outfit, the occasion. Truth be told, I have always been a one and done scent girl. If there’s one thing that’s for certain about scent, it’s that it’s super personal. That is why I’ve always found fragrance a peculiar gift to give, unless you know the recipient really well. There’s a brand called PINROSE that totally gets this.PINROSE is a San Francisco-based company founded by friends Erika Shumate and Christine Luby. Just reading that they bonded over their love of the 1996 Chicago Bulls had me sold. Uh ladies? I too dreamed of being a Lovabull. Erika and Christine wanted to make choosing a fragrance an easy, fun experience filled with “quirky elegance”. They use what they call synesthesia and an online quiz to match you with scents you’ll dig. All PINROSE products are phthalate, paraben, cruelty, and gluten free. YES. Tell me more, right?!

If you’re giving the gift of good smells to someone else, PINROSE’s Parfum-a-Go-Go is a great place to start. I got to experience this adorable iridescent bag containing 2 of each scent via scent petal, a pre-saturated wipe. I love that it includes 2 so that you can be certain. The only thing it’s missing is a little notepad to write down which you loved and why, a la wine tasting.

Based on the PINROSE quiz, it predicted I’d go for ‘Garden Gangster’, ‘Treehouse Royal’ and ‘Campfire Rebel’. It was dead-freaking-on for Garden Gangster and Treehouse Royal. I knew I’d like Garden Gangster based on the description but never guessed I’d love Treehouse Royal and it was one of my faves! Campfire Rebel smells exactly as they describe but it’s not something I want to smell like. It legit smells like embers and booze. I have zero experience in aphrodisiacs, but I feel like dudes would love this scent on a woman.

A few other notes. #fragrancejokes‘Gilded Fox’ smells too sweet for me, reminding me of Butter Rum Lifesavers, even though I love those.‘Cuddle Punk’ was definitely in the sweet category as well.‘Merry Maker’ took me by surprise. Based on the notes, I didn’t think I’d be a fan but I totally loved it.‘Pillowtalk Poet’ is a bit too powdery for me, but soft and pleasant.If you know your recipient well, and want to really impress them, you can upload your own photo onto any of the bottles. Seriously-how cute would my cats look on a bottle?!PINROSE has gifting options from $9 to $110, making everyone from your secret santa to your bff jolly. Click here to save $10 off your $20 order.

The InStyler MAX makes the 3rd hair gadget I’ve tried out in the last year and a half. I think this means that I love technology and anything that promises to make my hair look cool with minimal effort. InStyler recently sent me their newest incarnation, the InStyler MAX, 2-way rotating iron. I was excited to try this magical spinny thing. Keep reading to find out if I think you should buy one and if you can really replace your flat iron and curling iron with the InStyler MAX alone. This $100 device promises to straighten hair better than a flat iron via a rotating tourmaline barrel and ionic bristles. It has 4 heat settings, going all the way up 450 degrees. It straightens by feeding the strands through the bristles while simultaneously smoothing it with the rotating barrel. The barrel can be adjusted to rotate both ways by “double clicking” the device. If I straighten my hair, I usually use a CHI flat iron from legit 2005. It just won’t die, I’m telling you. I have wavy hair on the bottom, straight on top so the bottom is always a battle. I sectioned out my hair the same way I would for a flat iron sesh before using the InStyler MAX. I then went about taking 1-3″ sections of hair and slowly working the InStyler through my gnarly locks. I like that you can smooth the ends under or flip them up, depending on the placement.

I found that the InStyler did straighten my hair decently. It gave a more finished look to the ends, making it look as though I may have had a blow out. I do think it could have straightened my bottom layers more though. When it comes to curling my hair with the InStyler, this proved a bit more challenging. You are to wrap the entire section around the barrel, clamp it down and let it rotate for 5-10 seconds. Even when following these directions, I still ended up with something that looked more like a half bend/half wave. I won’t say it was a bad thing necessarily as I love a more lived-in, undone look. For layered hair or shorter styles, I actually think whatever this is creating would be adorable.

PROS

Smoothes hair without frizz

Comfortable to use

Adds shine

Gentle on hair

Can create an undone, lived-in wave that looks nice on short-to-medium styles

Comes with heat mat

Auto-shutoff

30 second heat-up time

4 heat settings

CONS

Noisy when in use, can get annoying

Cool tip attachment causes hair to get stuck in it. I recommend you don’t attach this.

Doesn’t create true curls

Slower to use than a flat iron

Doesn’t create truly pin-straight hair

Cannot double as a curling iron

Did the InStyler MAX straighten better than a flat iron? Not necessarily. Make sure you watch my video to see for yourself but that laser straight look can only come from a flat iron for me. Can you replace your flat iron and curling iron with it? Maybe your flat iron for a softer look but not your curling iron. This doesn’t perform like a curling iron or wand can.

Next up, I’ll be reviewing the InStyler BLU, a Turbo Ionic Dryer that claims to dry hair twice as fast. You’ll definitely want to check back for that post because I’ll be holding a giveaway to win one!

Thanks for reading!

InStyler MAX provided by InStyler for review purposes. No financial compensation was received nor was a positive review encouraged. All opinions expressed are my own.

For the girl or guy obsessed with their locks, these gifts are sure to impress. From high-tech blow dryers, to time-saving drying towels, their hair game will be strong this holiday season. Give ’em a good hair day 365.

Instyler® Blu Turbo Ionic Hair Dryer I die for anything white and geometric so obviously I want this for that reason alone. I’ll be reviewing it for you in an upcoming post but for now I’ll say that it has jet turbine fans and you can control the amount of ions to reduce frizz.

Dyson Inc. Women’s Supersonic Hair Dryer Now you have to really, really, really love someone to buy them a $400 blow dryer but Dyson doesn’t do affordable. I haven’t tried this but the initial reviews are pretty excellent.

AQUIS Desert Rose Essential Hair Turban I have one of these and I love it. It’s a more quality fabric than the ole Turbie Twist and really wicks moisturize out of the hair. Plus, it stays on really well, so well, that sometimes I sleep in it because I’m a loser.

The Original Tangle Teezer When I got a blowout at Dream Dry in New York, the stylist used one of these and I loved it. If you have loads of hair, or little girls with tangles, this really does the trick, gently and quickly.

Briogeo Don’t Despair Repair This hydrating mask is wonderfully effective. I used to think that with my oily hair, I wouldn’t benefit from a deep conditioning mask. Surprise, surprise; I was wrong. It makes my hair silky, shiny and smooth.

I worked in retail on Black Friday once. It was at Sephora and ya know, it really wasn’t that bad! I will always be Sephora loyal and they have awesome Black Friday deals every year. Here are some of my picks, for gifting or, let’s be honest, for yourself.

This is a story about hedge balls. Not from Iowa? Ok, Hedge apples. Horse apples maybe? Osage oranges? Not ringing a bell? Their technical name is maclura pomifera and what looks like a wrinkly green brain and grows in my home state of Iowa holds powerful beauty properties. If you don’t place them around your house as insect repellent or didn’t grow up “hedge bowling” them down a gravel road on your aunt and uncle’s Iowa farm like I did, let me enlighten you. I assure you; my husband is tired of hearing my hedge ball science facts!

First of all, deer, squirrels, pigs, horses and cows are some of my favorite animals. Plus, they are smart as hell. They know to eat the hedge balls as the seeds inside contain amino acids, proteins, essential fatty acids and lipids. My mom recently told me about an emergency vet visit to my aunt and uncles’ farm when one of the cows got a hedge ball stuck in it’s throat! This post is so Iowa already and I love it. Before the invention of barbed wire fences, hedge ball trees were planted to serve as livestock fencing. You guys; I am full of THA FACTS. It’s actually embarrassing how much I love learning about this stuff.

All of this aside, what’s this wrinkly-ass, brain-looking fruit gonna do for you?! Oh, I’m ‘gon tell ya, but in order to do so, I need to tell you a personal tale. So, in the past 48 hours, 4 people have made a point to comment on my skin. One was a complete stranger. I was starting to get suspicious. What do you want from me? Are you going to ask me to do something? But they didn’t. I was completely puzzled by the 4th random compliment so I started thinking about what it could be.

I’m not pregnant. I haven’t just returned from vacation. I haven’t had a facial in almost 2 years. The only thing I’ve been doing differently and faithfully is using LimeLight One Drop Wonder. I have reason to credit all of the compliments lately to this. Trust me; I wish it wasn’t this because it’s $84. I can’t deny the compliments though. Once you find what works, go forth. LimeLight One Drop Wonder contains one ingredient-100% pomifera oil, aka hedge ball juice!

I’ve been pressing this onto my skin after applying my usual serums or moisturizers at night before bed. Sometimes I mix a drop into my moisturizer in the day time too. I’ve been using it for 3.5 weeks and the improvements I’ve noticed in my own skin are:

Softer forehead wrinkles

Minimized pores

Healthier skin tone

Overall glow

No dry patches or flakes

Beyond the results I’ve been seeing in my own skin, others have credited One Drop Wonder‘s superior healing and anti-inflammatory powers to calming rosacea, eczema, psoriasis, soothing cuts and burns, eliminating cold sores, helping acne, healing scars, athlete’s foot and nourishing hair. One Drop Wonder is rich in Omega 6 and antioxidants and is also UV-protective. It helps your other skincare products penetrate deeper due to it’s molecular weight, acting as a carrier oil. It absorbs quickly and contains just one ingredient, pomifera oil.

Ok, but is there anything I don’t like about it? Well, it is pricy for .5 oz. Other than that, I just don’t love the scent. It contains no fragrance but it’s natural scent can best be described as “Iowa farm.” I don’t smell it while it’s on my skin, just when I first apply it.

If you’re intrigued, you can purchase One Drop Wonder through my links, or any LimeLight Beauty Guide. Let me know if you have any additional questions in the comment section below.

Product purchased with my own money. Purchases will earn me commission as retail this through LimeLight by Alcone.

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4 days agoby ivysavanahLife made possible by @ollynutrition . My husband and I both take their multi's + I love their Beauty and Sleep vitamins too!❤️These stress ones really do help, for my fellow anxious babes! Oh, and this isn't sponsored. I just like gummy vitamins

3 days agoby ivysavanahWhat are your thoughts on @Aveda makeup? I really enjoy their minty lip glosses but I admit, I struggle with some of the other products. Would love to hear your opinions

2 days agoby ivysavanahI've been combining these 3 for a romantic, pinky mauve lip. Top to bottom: @limelightalcone Enduring Lip Color in Macaroon, Enduring Lip Liner in 02, Signature Lipgloss in Grace. Snag the trio with vegan leather makeup bag for $50 at limelightbyalcone.com/ivyboyd